Cencelle, a rubbish dump as a window to the past: from the mise en table to urban life between the 12th and 15th centuries

The analysis of material culture, particularly focused on ceramics, serves as a reliable interpretative tool for studying the origin context and the society that crafted it. In the medieval town of Cencelle (VT), it is intriguing to contemplate how ceramics provide a necessary interpretative key to frame social and economic changes throughout the chronological evolution of the settlement. This aspect becomes particularly evident in the mise en table of fine dining ceramics. Notably, there is a well-documented tendency, especially in the Middle Ages, to make these ceramic classes sensitive and communicative. Through a form of interactivity involving shape, function, and ornamentation, the individual establishes a relationship with the object. Building upon these reflections, the proposed intervention aims to delve into the findings from the filling of a cistern connected to two distinct city quarters. The materials contained within are particularly significant as they capture the moment of the cistern’s de-functionalization and act as a sort of mirror reflecting the materials used in adjacent residential areas up to that point. The proposed intervention seeks to present the morpho-typological study of ceramics discovered in this context, specifically focusing on coated, indigenous, and imported ceramics as indicators of economic surplus. The goal is to understand how these ceramics coexisted and contributed together to meet the demands of the city market. Starting from the premise that waste constitutes the primary source for studying habits, diet, daily life, and the economy of a location, these materials will be analyzed in their material, functional, and chronological diversity, alongside the examination of other sources, to provide insight into the daily life of Cencelle and its inhabitants from the second half of the 12th century to the 15th century.